Category: Guns

AW1Ed sends us a link to good news for Shaneen Allen who was arrested last year for possessing a loaded firearm in New Jersey even though she was licensed in Pennsylvania to carry the gun. When she was pulled over by a New Jersey trooper, she admitted that she was in possession of the gun. Ms. Allen, a single mom, was facing ten years in prison. The state’s Attorney General intervened;

Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain originally denied Allen pretrial intervention because he said a 2008 directive that expanded the state’s Graves Act did not allow for an exception.

But the attorney general released a clarification to the state’s county prosecutors Wednesday with respect to out-of-state visitors from states where their gun possession would be legal.

“In most of these cases, imprisonment is neither necessary nor appropriate to serve the interests of justice and protect public safety,” acting Attorney General John Hoffman wrote.

“In applying the factors set out in the clarification, I determined that the defendant in this case should be offered the opportunity to be admitted into the Atlantic County PTI Program,” McClain said. “I have communicated that determination to the court and defense counsel.”

So, she won’t be facing jail time, I guess. My CCW permit has printed right on it that I’m responsible for knowing the laws of any State that I might pass through and Ms. Allen serves as an object lesson to gun owners. New Jersey is not gun friendly at all, so leave them at home, even though you’re your more likely to need a gun there than anywhere else.

Ms. Allen is also an object lesson for legislators in Congress to get on the stick and pass a Federal law to allow licensed law-abiding citizens to carry wherever they go. If I’m not committing a crime with my gun in my home state, I’m not likely to commit a gun crime ten miles away in Maryland.

Folks have been sending us this link yesterday from Fox News about the 9-year-old girl who accidentally shot her instructor in the head with a fully-automatic Uzi submachine gun. No one has mentioned the caliber, but I’m guessing it was a nine millimeter version, but I know Uzis come a .380 caliber and .45 caliber version.

It’s an unfortunate incident, but it was wholly preventable. Looking at the video, the girl didn’t have a firm grasp of the weapon and the recoil wrested the weapon from her left hand – she was obviously too small and too weak for the rate of fire of that particular weapon (600 rpm). She had good control when she fired a single shot – but, well;

Ronald Scott, a Phoenix-based firearms safety expert, said most shooting ranges have an age limit and strict safety rules when teaching children to shoot. He said instructors usually have their hands on guns when children are firing high-powered weapons.

“You can’t give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it,” Scott said.

Yeah, that.

While rioters and looters tore up Ferguson, Missouri, the suburb of St Louis, while they seek some sort retribution for the youngster gunned down by a police officer, there were some businesses that were untouched for very good reasons according to the Washington Times;

Mike Gutierrez, owner of the tattoo shop, rounded up his friends, including County Guns owner Adam Weinstein, and prepared the protect their property with force.

“We didn’t want them coming in here and then running around with a bunch of free guns,” said Mr. Weinstein, wearing an assault rifle, pistol and tactical vest, the Riverfront Times reported.

The group arrived to find a gang of thieves ransacking a Dollar General in the same strip mall that houses their businesses. Mr. Weinstein said the looters attempted moving toward the shop, but were scared off by the guns. Then the police arrived.

That’s pretty low-rent for folks to loot the Dollar store, FFS, but I guess a bigger score would have been the gun shop. Once again good guys with guns prevent the situation from escalating to full scale war in the streets.

According to the Washington Times, yet another lawman has come out to urge residents of his county to protect themselves until his deputies can get to the scene.

Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins told a crowd Monday night at the Spring Hill United Methodist Church that there has been an explosion of violence and crime in the area, a local ABC affiliate reported.

“When I am out with my family, even though I am a cop, I don’t go anywhere without a gun,” he said. “I mean it’s sad we have to have that attitude, but I am going to protect myself and my family. I want my deputies at your house just as fast as they can when you got a problem, but you better be able to take care of business until we get there if you have to protect your family.”

From ABC11;

This part of the county’s landscape of rural life is quickly giving way to a population boom, and residents are worried. Several residents said they are afraid to leave their homes — afraid of the growing violence.

[…]

Several speakers urged the residents to call deputies if they see something suspicious, and to keep a sharp eye out for themselves and their neighbors.

The Washington Post reports that Chief Cathy Lanier of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department has instructed her officers that DC’s residents who are in possession of legally registered gun outside of their homes won’t be subject to the gun laws that were overturned this weekend. The lifting of the ban includes non-residents of the District.

In an order approved by Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, police were told that District residents are permitted to carry pistols if the weapons are registered. Those who had not registered their handguns could be charged on that ground, the instruction said.

The number of registered pistols is thought to be low.

Lanier’s instructions to police also said that residents of other jurisdictions without felony records would not be charged under the ban on carrying pistols.

Meanwhile, Ted Gest, the spokesman for the D.C. attorney general’s office, which defended the handgun ban in court, said it will “be seeking a stay shortly,” so the order by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. may not be in effect for long.

[…]

Scullin, a senior U.S. District Court judge who normally sits in the Northern District of New York, wrote in his ruling that he was stopping enforcement of the law “unless and until” the city adopted a constitutionally valid licensing mechanism.

But, don’t bring your gun into the District through Maryland – they’re still stuck in the 20th Century.

Added: Our buddy, Emily Miller on Fox News is “shocked” that this happened;